


what do you think you are, mature?

by Cheshirean (Cheetolord)



Category: LOONA (Korea Band)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-20
Updated: 2018-10-20
Packaged: 2019-08-04 18:56:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16352306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cheetolord/pseuds/Cheshirean
Summary: Jungeun isn't good with words, especially not in front of pretty girls.





	what do you think you are, mature?

There’s this girl that comes into her work everyday. Jungeun works at a coffee shop at the corner of her street as a barista. It’s a nice place with a pleasant ambiance and equally as pleasant customers, and it’s by far the best place she’s ever worked. There’s just this one girl that catches her eye who comes in every morning at exactly _7:23._

 

Her name’s Jinsoul (she knows this because that’s what’s written on the cup she tops off every morning) and she orders a cup of black coffee every single time, no cream, no sugar, without fail. It shouldn’t be her concern, really, but it’s the face she makes at her first sip every single morning that draws her attention. It’s one of disgust and utter regret, but she goes on to gulp it down before leaving anyway.

 

She’s cute, though. Pretty, too, in a unique sort of way akin to her own features, though softer and gentler in the slopes and edges.

 

So, it’s on a particular day when she has to take over a shift for her coworker at an ungodly time of morning, unexpecting of the equally as early presence of the attractive woman when it finally slips through half-awake lips.

 

“What do you think you are, mature?”

 

“ . . . Excuse me?”

 

Jungeun knows she’s screwed up big time, though Jinsoul doesn’t sound angry or the least bit offended, just adorably confused. She gives off the air of someone who requires constant coddling, someone who needs to be protected and taken care of. She has to have a boyfriend. There’s no possibility that she doesn’t. She’s exactly the type of girl guys would throw themselves at. Especially in the oversized sweater and red scarf she’s donning that makes her look softer than she normally does. As if she needed to look any softer.

 

“I, uhm, I didn’t mean to say that. I - You just never seem to enjoy that - the coffee, I mean, and it sort of just -”

 

The girl giggles. “- It’s okay. You’re right. I don’t really like coffee,” she says, expression turning sheepish at the confession.

 

Jungeun’s glad the coffee shop isn’t too populated, no one to be witness of the blush spreading like wildfire across her cheeks.

 

“T-Then why . . . ?”

 

“I have trouble staying awake in class . . . I get in trouble for falling asleep a lot,” she says, looking at Jungeun through long lashes, “and my professor looks sad whenever she catches me, so I’d rather drink coffee!”

 

Jungeun’s struck dumb for a few seconds because who in this filthy world has such a pure response like that? But then the sound of an incoming customer snaps her out of her stupor and she’s sent rattling out a poorly stitched together sentence like a complete idiot.

 

“You know there are energy drinks for that?”

 

Jinsoul cocks her head to the side with one of the softest smiles Jungeun has ever set eyes on, and she finds herself breathless at the sight.

 

“Yeah, but there’s something here that I can’t get at a convenience store.”

 

The words are said in a meaningful sort of way that Jungeun’s either too dumb or too shallow to really decipher right now, and then Jinsoul’s fingers are brushing just past hers before she’s walking off to her usual seat next to the wall length window.

 

Her hands are as soft as she expected them to be.

 

~

 

Jungeun begins to notice the look in the depths of cinnamon sprinkled eyes. The look is indecipherable as of now, written in a language that she has yet to discover, but it makes her feel things and that just makes it all the more difficult.

 

But then, a few weeks in, and Jinsoul seems to lose patience and Jungeun’s suddenly standing dumbly in front of her with the cafe’s key precariously dangling in her numb fingers (she hadn’t been able to make it in the morning because Yerim had just flown in from London and she had taken the night shift instead), desperately grasping for an understanding of the words that just slipped out between pretty lips.

 

“Will you go out with me?”

 

Jinsoul looks bashful, and Jungeun can see her hands trembling (though it could be because it was colder than it should be in November). And _oh, I should say something, shouldn’t I?_

 

But she doesn’t, and she’s not sure what brings her to do it, but suddenly she’s grabbing a hold of Jinsoul’s shaking hand and yanking her in for a kiss. She’s never been good with words, anyway. Jinsoul’s soft and malleable and so, so fragile and she practically molds into Jungeun’s sharper points and edges.

 

It’s odd because really, Jinsoul’s pretty much skin and bone, and if anything, she should be just as rigid and pointed as Jungeun is. But she’s not, and her arm’s wrapping around a miniscule waist and the other is tangling in sweet scented hair and her head is just spinning and spinning and spinning.

 

“So, when you said you were going to ‘lock up’  I guess you meant it in the metaphorical sense.”

 

Jungeun gasps and tears herself off of Jinsoul like she’s a bucket of water she’d dunked her head in for too long. It’s the cafe’s owner, Jo Haseul, a small, gentle woman with a dark side to her that could freeze hell twice over.

 

“Oh, hey Seullie!”

 

The glare that had been aimed straight for Jungeun abruptly disappears and turns into something softer, like marshmallows. She should have known that Jinsoul would have the power to turn anyone and anything soft if she stared at it long enough.

 

“Jinsoul. Was my employee,” a glare, “bothering you?”

 

“No, no, it’s not like that, Seullie. I, um, I asked her out.”

 

Jungeun feels like she’s just been dumped into the arctic ocean with the withering glare that erupts like Superman’s lasers from Haseul’s eyes. The tiny woman takes a dangerous step towards her and Jungeun stumbles back a few paces with her hands outstretched as a sign of submission.

 

“Wait, I can - I can explain.”

 

But Haseul stops there. “If you hurt her, I will personally cook you in my oven and serve you to the dogs.”

 

Jungeun blinks at the abrupt change of event before her mind catches up. “H-Huh? Oh, of course. I wouldn’t dream of -”

 

But Haseul’s already turned her back on her, attention on Jinsoul instead and Jungeun decidedly falls silent.

 

“You know who to come to, right?”

 

“Seullie, Jungeun isn’t - ”

 

“ _Right?_ ”

 

“Yeah, of course.”

 

“Good.”

 

Haseul gives her one last look, then spins on her heel and walks away, steps resounding in the darkness and Jungeun watches her go, still shaken from the abrupt confrontation. She snaps out of it when she feels a hand brush against her shoulder.

 

“Sorry about her, Haseul’s my best friend, I’ve known her since elementary school. She’s just a little . . . protective,” Jinsoul says, looking down at Jungeun with imploring eyes.

 

“Yeah, no, it’s not a problem. I just thought I was about to get fired, or my head chopped off.”

 

“I wouldn’t put that past her, actually.”

 

There’s a brief, awkward silence that doesn’t last long, as Jinsoul takes a quick step forward and gives her a peck on the lips, then drops back again and blushes fiercely. Their height difference is admittedly enviable and Jungeun finds herself thinking about that as her cheeks burst into flames that she knows are a hell of a lot brighter than Jinsoul’s little spots of pink.

 

“I-I’ll see you tomorrow morning?” Jinsoul stutters.

 

“Uhm, yeah, definitely.”

 

“Okay, bye! Good night!”

 

Jungeun watches Jinsoul’s quickly retreating figure and wonders how someone’s back can look so attractive, reaching up and brushing along her lips with her fingertips. She’s going to make sure that that isn’t their last kiss.

 

~

 

“Can we get shaved ice? Please, Jungie?”

 

Jungeun knows she’s lost when the nickname slips from Jinsoul’s lips and she just sighs and waves a hand at her. Jinsoul scurries towards the vendor like an excited puppy and Jungeun follows amiably behind her, a careful eye trained on her to make sure she doesn’t get hurt. It’s been two months since the fateful confession and Jungeun can confidently say that it’s been the best two months of her life.

 

Jinsoul’s just as sweet and cute as she had imagined her to be. Jungeun, in return for the adorable ways of the woman, saves her from various possible accidents, mainly tripping and bumping into things and people. They’re a good pair if any, and Jungeun couldn’t have hoped for more.

 

“What do you want, Jungie?”

 

“Anything you get is fine,” Jungeun replies, nodding at the vendor who nods back with a smile.

 

“You know I’m indecisive,” Jinsoul pouts.

 

Jungeun feels her resolve fade for the umpteenth time and she glances at the menu.

 

“Watermelon.”

 

“Oh, that sounds nice! Can we have watermelon please?”

 

The vendor smiles amiably and nods, getting to work as Jinsoul hops up and down like a overeager child, her fingers tangled with hers in a loose grip the entire time. Jungeun wonders what she’s ever done to deserve someone like Jinsoul.

 

~

 

Jungeun’s not usually an overbearing person.

 

She respects people and trusts them to take care of themselves, but when she comes out from the back of the cafe, dressed out of her uniform and into casual clothes, only to be greeted by the sight of a sleazy guy who doesn’t seem to know what space is getting all up against Jinsoul who looks as uncomfortable as a person can get, all she sees is red.

 

Before she can so much as register it, she’s storming forward, reaching Jinsoul in a matter of seconds, and pulling her into her arms by the waist, feeling the taller woman let out a sigh of obvious relief, sinking into her front and automatically placing her hands over Jungeun’s.

 

“Hands off, swine,” she snarls.

 

The guy doesn’t even have the decency to look guilty, taking a step forward instead so that Jungeun’s forced to push  Jinsoul behind her out of instinct. It probably looks a little comedic, considering Jinsoul’s taller than her, but she’s not taking any chances.

 

“Who the hell are you? Stay out of this. This isn’t your business.”

 

Jungeun scoffs, stepping forward fearlessly and holding back laughter at the look on the guy’s face when he meets her glare.

 

“It is my business when you’re trying to cop a feel out of _my girlfriend_. And if you say one word about a threesome, I swear to god I’ll pluck off your good for nothing penis and give it to the dogs.”

 

That gets the guy to recoil, wavering in his stance and taking a step back, tail between his legs as he grumbles something under his breath and slinks out the doors. Jungeun doesn’t realize how tense she is until Jinsoul’s standing in front of her, looking down at her with those pretty, cat-like eyes, looking worried as she takes her hand, running a thumb across her knuckles.

 

“Jungie? Are you okay?”

 

“Uh, yeah, yeah I’m okay. Are you okay? Did he hurt you? Touch you anywhere? I swear, I’m going to -”

 

“I’m okay, really. Thank you.”

 

Jungeun blinks up at her, tilting her head, which gets a giggle out of the older woman.

 

“PDA in my cafe?”

 

Jungeun jumps at Haseul’s voice, spinning around to see, in surprise, a smile colored across her expression, aimed for her, not Jinsoul. She’s not sure what to do under this kind of scrutiny from her boss. Jinsoul only tangles their fingers together with a cheeky grin, Jungeun unable to keep her attention on Haseul when someone like Jinsoul is beside her.

 

“You get my vote, Kim Jungeun. Congratulations. You have a good catch there, Soul.”

 

“I know,” Jinsoul says, leaning down to press a kiss on Jungeun’s cheek.

 

She feels a blush coming on and hastily draws her hair across her face with her free hand, earning Jinsoul’s adoring coos which don’t help in the least. She’s not sure when she’d gotten so whipped.

 

~

 

Jungeun never thought the day would come when she’d be wearing a couple t-shirt straight out of the romcoms she’s ridiculed all her life. But it’s Jinsoul’s birthday, and she’d be damned if she didn’t fulfill all of the girl’s wishes, no matter what the cost. It’s not so much the design of the shirts that has her gagging, but what’s written on them.

 

Jinsoul’s wearing one that says: _If lost, return to Jungeun._

 

And, of course, to her horror, she’s wearing one that says: _I’m Jungeun._

 

She’s not sure when Jinsoul had found the time to secretly invest in these t-shirts, but clearly, she hasn’t been keeping a careful enough eye on her girlfriend. When their friends catch sight of them, the teasing is saved for her and her only. They coo at Jinsoul and reassure her that their couple shirts are downright adorable while they elbow Jungeun in the ribs with a snicker, usually accompanied by the word _whipped._

 

Traitors, the lot of them.

 

It’s halfway into the night when Haseul abruptly appears at her side, watching the others play a round of beer pong in the living room. She startles, because she really hasn’t gotten used to her boss’ silent charisma yet, but she manages to make it as unnoticeable as possible.

 

“Jinsoul’s been hurt a lot in the past,” Haseul says, her voice just audible enough to be heard by her and only her. “She’s pretty, and she has this charm to her, I’m sure you know that. So, naturally, people get attracted to her. A lot of those people were complete assholes. They used her and threw her away like she was some toy.” Haseul’s voice has become dangerous, venom dripping from every syllable, and at hearing this, Jungeun can’t help but feel anger course through her veins. “That’s why I’m always hard on anyone who tries to get close to her, she’s like a baby bird, and she’s still so forgiving even after everything she’s been through. But I can tell you really care about her.” Jungeun looks at Haseul, surprised at the sudden change of tone. “I’ve seen the way you look at her when she’s not looking, and the small things you do for her even when she doesn’t ask you to. I’m glad you’re in her life, Jungeun. She deserves someone like you.”

 

Jungeun’s at a lost for words, and she blinks fiercely at the unbidden burning in her eyes, just a stray piece of dust, she swears, and turns her head in hopes that Haseul can’t see. The older woman pats her gently on the shoulder anyway, and it’s motherly in a sense, that Jungeun can understand why Jinsoul seems to look up to Haseul as a parental figure.

 

Haseul gives her a soft smile then slips away through the crowd, small figure quickly disappearing behind far larger frames. Jungeun manages to catch sight of Jinsoul standing near the kitchen looking like a lost puppy and wastes no time in going to her.

 

“Jungie! I was looking for you -”

 

Jungeun sweeps her into a hug, muffling the rest of her girlfriend’s sentence into her shoulder and burying her face into her neck. Jinsoul giggles and wraps her arms around her waist, nuzzling against her playfully.

 

“Are you tired? Do you want to go home?”

 

“I love you.”

 

She feels Jinsoul freeze in her arms and she prepares for the worst when she pulls away from her. It’s not the ideal confession. Especially not in the middle of a giant house party, but it is Jinsoul’s birthday, and Jungeun has always been the impulsive type, anyway.

 

All negative thoughts fly out the window when she’s met with Jinsoul’s blinding smile and a kiss that almost topples her backward. She manages to catch the both of them against the back of the counter, though not without the casualty of a plastic cup filled to the brim with some mixture of alcohol.

 

“I love you, too. So, so much,” Jinsoul says once they break apart.

 

The moment is broken, however, by Sooyoung with an apologetic-looking Jiwoo tugging on her arm. “Get a room, love birds!”

 

Jungeun peeks over Jinsoul’s shoulder and flips her off, only lowering her arm once Jinsoul gently pulls it back down and holds her hand instead. She doesn’t mind it.

 

She doesn’t think she ever will.

 


End file.
